Inside
WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
Waterloo | Brantford | Kitchener | Toronto
Photo: Mat McCarthy
OCTOBER 2014
The Laurier Loop run, which wrapped up Waterloo Homecoming, raised more than $12,000 for Laurier’s Sun Life Financial Movement Disorders Research and Rehabilitation Centre. More Homecoming on page 8.
Mother and son to graduate together Lila Bruyere and Shawn Johnston overcome struggles to earn masters degrees Convocation ceremonies are nothing new for Lila Bruyere and Shawn Johnston. The mother and son have four degrees and a college diploma between them, and they have proudly watched each other cross the stage to receive each one. But the Laurier convocation ceremony the duo will attend Oct. 31 will be different. For the first time, both mother and son will don graduation robes at the same time. Not only will Bruyere, 61, and Johnston, 37, become members of Laurier’s class of 2014, they will also graduate from the same program, the Faculty of Social Work’s Aboriginal Field of Study. By all accounts, it will be a first for the university. As rare as it is for a mother and son to graduate at the same time, from the same program, at the same university, the paths Bruyere and Johnston have taken to where they are today are even more remarkable. It wasn’t long ago that Johnston
would stop in the middle of the bridge he crossed every day on the way to his call-centre job and contemplate jumping off. “I would ask myself, ‘Would anyone miss me?’” he said. At the time, he was addicted to alcohol, cocaine and crystal meth, and his life had hit a point where it didn’t look like things could get better.
Johnston left his home on the Couchiching First Nation near Fort Frances, Ont., for Winnipeg at just 16 after dropping out of high school. “I faced a lot of bullying and, at the time, there were so few supports for Aboriginal youth,” he said. “But school was something I always enjoyed. I always knew education was something I wanted.”
After moving to Winnipeg, Johnston tried completing his GED but fell a few marks short. He then began a decade-long decent into addiction. “I had given up on school for the time being, but I was working, I had friends, I had just come out of the closet, so I was making a life for myself,” said Johnston. “But then I just started making the
Photo: Mat McCarthy
By Justin Fauteux
Shawn Johnston shares a laugh with his mother Lila Bruyere on the porch of Laurier’s Aboriginal Student Centre.
wrong decisions and meeting the wrong people.” After spending 30 days in a rehab centre he kicked his addiction to crystal meth, but quickly returned to drinking and cocaine. “A few months later, I just came to a realization that I wanted something better for myself. I was serious this time.” For Bruyere, her son’s struggle was painfully familiar. Not only was she working as an addiction counsellor at the time, but she had also fought her own battle with alcoholism. A survivor of the residential school system, where she was physically abused by her instructors, Bruyere was an alcoholic by the time she entered adulthood. “I grew up with my parents drinking and they were residential school survivors themselves, so they had problems of their own,” she said of the vicious cycle that affected so many Aboriginal families. “They had 12 of us, and every time one child left for a Mother and son see page 5
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Meet Sally Heath, adventure racer, ultramarathon runner and beer connoisseur.
Hungry Cities research project, led by Laurier’s Jonathan Crush receives $2.5 million in funding.
Homecoming highlights from the Waterloo campus.
Inside
OCTOBER 2014
president’s message
Celebrating 15 years of success in Brantford Laurier is celebrating a remarkable milestone this month — the 15th anniversary of our Brantford campus. The story of this campus is one of vision, community partnerships and the transformative power of higher education. The background to this inspiring tale is now well known: the decline of Ontario’s traditional manufacturing sector in the 1980s and ’90s hit Brantford hard. The city’s downtown reflected the negative fallout of deep unemployment — business closures, boarded-up buildings, and a growing concern about crime, safety and the general
health of the community. But rather than give up on its urban core, civic leaders were determined to find a new wellspring of prosperity. If they could entice a college or university to open a campus in the downtown, the thinking went, it would create a powerful stimulus for economic development and provide the higher education needed to prepare new generations of residents to take leadership roles in the community and the local economy. Fortunately, a number of academic leaders within Laurier saw the potential for mutual
Frank McKenna, deputy chair of TD Bank Group, left, talks with Laurier President Max Blouw (right) and Brantford Mayor Chris Friel at Laurier’s Brantford campus in the spring after a TD gift annoucement to support a LaunchPad entrepreneurship program on the Brantford campus.
benefit in the Brantford proposition. In particular, they saw an opportunity to engage in unique partnerships that would allow the university to leverage new resources and develop innovative new programming. With just one building, 39 students and a handful of faculty and staff, Laurier and its community partners launched the Brantford campus in fall 1999. Today, as we celebrate the campus’ 15th anniversary, we have more than 3,000 students, 70 full-time faculty and 19 owned or leased buildings in Brantford. “In our wildest dreams, we did not expect what has happened here. It grew so quickly, it was beyond anything anyone imagined,” Mayor Chris Friel told The Waterloo Region Record earlier this year. “Postsecondary completely changed our culture, it completely changed our focus.” The creation of a new campus has encouraged Laurier to develop fresh new programming such as digital media and journalism, business technology management, game design and development, health administration, criminology, and concurrent education, to name just a few. It has also allowed us
to engage in unique partnerships with a range of organizations, from post-secondary institutions such as Nipissing University and Conestoga College to the City of Brantford, the Six Nations community, and the YMCA of Hamilton/ Burlington/Brantford. Indeed, the Brantford story is widely seen as a model for developing new post-secondary campuses in Ontario and beyond. Earlier this year, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne cited the Brantford example as she invited universities to submit proposals for new or expanded campuses in underserved areas of the province. Laurier enthusiastically accepted this invitation, and last month we submitted a proposal to develop a new campus in Milton. Situated on the western edge of the Greater Toronto Area, Milton is the fastestgrowing community in Canada and its civic leaders are eager to address the strong demand for post-secondary education among its residents. As we learned through our experience in Brantford, community partnerships are essential. Since 2008, we have been working with the Town of Milton and other area partners to
understand the aspirations of the community and the goals of the Ontario government in order to develop a proposal that will benefit all stakeholders. We are also mindful of the need to develop a Milton plan that will complement our existing campuses in Brantford and Waterloo. As envisioned in our multi-campus governance planning over the past few years, the addition of a Milton campus would strengthen the entire university by allowing us to leverage the resources that come with new partnerships, by developing innovative new programming, and by growing the university while preserving the intimate and supportive nature of our individual campuses. As with Brantford, I am confident that the story of our proposed Milton campus will be one of vision, community partnerships and the transformative power of higher education.
Max Blouw President and Vice-Chancellor
Seven things to know about the new website, set to launch Oct. 27 1) When you’ll see it. The site will launch Oct. 27. It’s a bit like building a house: you can’t hang your chandelier until you have blueprints, building materials, a foundation, a frame, floors and walls, and finally a building that’s passed inspection before you move in. Right now the web team is busy with the floors and walls, but rest assured, all eyes are looking toward the chandelier. 2) It’s not about you — not just yet. When the site launches, it will be focused on prospective students — the ones who are used to eye-catching, easy-tonavigate, mobile-optimized sites and are looking for information about Laurier. Current students, staff and faculty will find most of the information we need on the existing site, which will
operate in parallel with the new site, until the next phase when an intranet/portal solution is introduced. Then the university will say goodbye to the current site for good. In the meantime, make sure to bookmark your most frequent pages and delete outdated information from the current site. 3) Who’s in charge. The core web team, made up of ICT and CPAM staff, are the ones making it happen, but all critical decisions have been made with the input of the 14-person web steering committee. 4) It will show Laurier’s best side. Everyone has a best side, and Laurier’s new website will be no exception. It looks fine from the older Internet Explorer
(version 8), but to see it looking and working its best, check it out in Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer 9 or higher. 5) It’s not you; it’s us. The core web team is focusing all our attention on creating the new site and getting it launched in a short amount of time. So if team members don’t return your calls or messages right away, or are unable to attend non-critical meetings, please don’t take it personally. 6) There will be a honeymoon (of sorts). The core team will be the ones focused on preparing Phase 1 content for the content management system (CMS). To help the team focus on the task at hand, please wait at least a few weeks after the website launches
InsideLaurier is published by Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing (CPAM) Wilfrid Laurier University 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5
InsideLaurier Volume 9, Number 2, October 2014 Editor: Stacey Morrison Contributors: Tomasz Adamski, Erin Almeida, Lori Chalmers Morrison, Kevin Crowley, Justin Fauteux, Kevin Klein, Mat McCarthy, Sandra Muir, John Ternan Printed on recycled paper
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before requesting immediate content changes, unless any information is wrong. 7) There will be training and there will be rules. After the launch, the web team will work with each area of the university to create workflows for the new CMS, and train each area’s web
content editors. The project team will therefore handle all content changes until CMS access is available early in the new year. All web content editors will work within the web governance parameters approved by the web steering committee. For more information, visit www.wlu.ca/webreview.
Send us your news, events & stories Email: insidelaurier@wlu.ca Deadline for submissions: Oct. 17, 2014 All submissions are appreciated, however not all submissions will be published. We reserve the right to edit all copy for accuracy, content and length.
InsideLaurier welcomes your comments and suggestions for stories. Tel: (519) 884-0710 ext. 3341 | Fax: (519) 884-8848 Email: stmorrison@wlu.ca InsideLaurier (circ. 2,100) is published eight times a year by CPAM. Opinions expressed in InsideLaurier do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the university’s administration.
Available online at www.wlu.ca/publicaffairs.
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Next issue of Inside November 2014
OCTOBER 2014 Inside What’s new and notable at Laurier
Mark Humphries named Dunkley Chair in War and Canadian Experience Associate Professor Mark Humphries has been named the Dunkley Chair in War and the Canadian Experience. The Dunkley Chair was created by Laurier alumni Brad and Sara Dunkley to study the impact of war on Canadian history and society. In addition to teaching in the Department of History, the Dunkley Chair manages the research collections, outreach activities and publications of the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS), one of the country’s leading historical research institutes.
Library opens new exhibit space The Waterloo campus Library has opened a new exhibition space featuring work by members of the Laurier community. The inaugural exhibit in the new space will feature work by Bharati Sethi, a PhD candidate in the university’s Faculty of Social Work. Sethi’s show, entitled, “Do you see what I see?” is a community-based research project that uses photography to explore the experience of women from Korea, Asia, Africa, Japan, the Arab World and Latin America at an employment health association in Brantford. Sethi’s exhibit comes to the Library via a collaboration with Laurier’s Graduate Students’ Association, which is co-sponsoring
the space, and the Robert Langen Art Gallery. The space is open to work by all members of the Laurier community, with graduate student work regularly featured.
Nominations open for Laurier teaching awards Teaching Support Services is accepting nominations from the Laurier community for the Award for Teaching Excellence and the Teaching Assistant Award of Excellence. The Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes one full-time faculty member and one contract academic staff member who excel in teaching. Recipients will receive a certificate, a permanent notation in the university calendar and a spot in Laurier’s Teaching Hall of Fame. Nominations are due to the Faculty/School dean by Jan. 15, 2015, and to the Office of Educational Development by Feb. 1, 2015. The Teaching Assistant Award of Excellence recognizes the outstanding achievement of one undergraduate and one graduate teaching/instructional assistant at Laurier. Recipients will receive a $500 scholarship, a spot in Laurier’s Teaching Hall of Fame and a framed certificate at convocation, at which time a citation will be read. Nominations are due March 1, 2015. For eligibility requirements and further information about both awards, visit www.wlu.ca/edev/ awards and choose Institutional Awards from the left-hand menu.
Laurier’s Cubed installation a smash hit at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche festival Laurier’s entry in the overnight Scotiabank Nuit Blanche arts and culture celebration in downtown Toronto was a huge hit earlier this month Hundreds of spectators poured into Laurier’s Toronto office at King and York streets to see a large-scale, eye-popping Rubik’s cube installation and to be amazed by Laurier fourth-year business student and Canadian world-class cube competitor Eric Limeback as he built his massive display of Rubik’s art until 4 a.m., when the final piece was installed before a highly engaged audience. The crowds were also enthralled with a presentation by Professor Jeffery Jones, director of the Laurier Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, discussing Limeback’s brain activity while solving cubes, to explore concepts of brain mapping and how this impacts how humans think.
Brantford campus celebrates 15th anniversary In 1999 Laurier’s Brantford campus opened with 39 students, three faculty members and one building. Today, 15 years later, the campus is thriving with more than 3,000 students, 70 full-time faculty members and a campus comprised of 19 buildings. Over the summer of 2014, significant work was done to the landscaping outside of the Carnegie Building, which this year celebrates its 110th anniversary.
In addition, work done in Victoria Park includes new site furnishings, concrete sidewalks and plantings throughout, resulting in a brighter, more expansive greenspace. On Oct. 2, the Brantford campus and the City of Brantford celebrated these revitalization projects and the campus’ 15th anniversary together with refreshments and entertainment in Victoria Park.
Photo: John Ternan
NEWS
Eric Limeback works to build the Rubik’s cube art installation.
The Brantford campus’ KAOS dance team helps get the celebrations underway in front of the Carnegie Building to recognize the campus’ 15th anniversary.
President’s Awards Individual Achievement: Jan Basso, director: Cooperative Education & Career Development.
Team Achievement: Library Public Service Review Group. Multi-Campus Champion Award: Ann Brandt, associate director: Development and Alumni Relations, Brantford, and Philip Teskey, fire safety officer, SHERM. Success Factor Awards Collaborates to Promote Team and Organizational Success: Michael Lisetto-Smith, manager: Study Skills & SI Centre, and Kate Tippin, director: SBE Marketing & Communications. Seeks Opportunities for Continuous Improvement: Tracey Ens, manager: Procurement
Services, and Marina Morgenshtern, CAS, Faculty of Social Work. Values Relationships and Community: Jill Bruyea, examinations coordinator: Accessible Learning, and Oleg Stukalov, university-industry liaison officer, Research Services. Supports a Culture of Service: Pari Goharriz, procurement/ purchasing administrator, and Christopher Hewitt, manager: ICT support, Brantford. Models Leadership and Accountability: Melissa Huszczo, associate registrar: Brantford campus, and Melissa Ireland, Aboriginal student support coordinator, Office of Aboriginal Initiatives.
Laurier representatives and student ambassadors meet prospective Golden Hawks at the Ontario Universities Fair in Toronto last month.
Sudoku
Photo: Justin Fauteux
Laurier recognized the commitment and contributions of all of its faculty and staff with 15, 25, 35 and 40 years of service, as well as employees who have demonstrated outstanding service to the university community, at its annual Employee Achievement event on Sept. 23. “The event provided a wonderful opportunity for us to recognize the exceptional accomplishments of our employees, with particular focus on the 2014 Employee Achievement Award winners and those who have achieved significant service milestones,” said Pamela Cant, assistant vice-president, Human Resources. “It was a great opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues. I was delighted by the number of attendees who participated in the festivities, including staff, faculty, and friends and family members of the award recipients.” This year, eight employees marked 40 years of service: Heather Blain-Yanke, Richard Christy, Richard Cousineau, Rick Elliott, Theresa Hoshowsky, Marc Kilgour, Gary Lambert and Edward Linder. The 2014 Employee Achievement Award recipients are:
Photo: Sandra Muir
Laurier celebrates employee achievement Laurier shines at university fair
Employee Achievement Award winners are recognized at the annual ceremony.
Answer see page 6.
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Inside
OCTOBER 2014
Local family donates $1 million to Laurier’s School of Business & Economics
people at Laurier
Amy Andres, academic advisor (Brantford campus). Lauren Bourdages, reserve and user associate, Library (Waterloo campus). Lori Butler, MSW practicum field advisor, Faculty of Social Work (Kitchener location). Ildiko de Boer, research facilitator (Natural Sciences), Office of Research Services (Waterloo campus). Shirley Hall, educational developer, Education Services (Waterloo campus). Janet Howitt, MSW practicum field advisor, Faculty of Social Work (Kitchener location).
Lisa Keys, manager, facilities, Physical Resources (Waterloo campus).
the new home of Laurier’s School of Business & Economics and the Department of Mathematics. In recognition of the Marslands’ generosity, a 150-seat lecture hall on the first floor of the GIE will be named in their honour.
“The members of the Marsland family are business leaders, community leaders, and generous philanthropists, who have, over the course of time, employed many people in our community. Their ability to adapt and
thrive over four generations is a powerful lesson for our students,” said Laurier President and Vicechancellor, Max Blouw. “On behalf of all of us at Laurier, I want to share my profound thanks with the entire family.”
School of Business & Economics Dean Micheál Kelly, left, chats with Margaret and Larry Marsland at a reception last month.
For a complete list of appointments visit www.wlu.ca/hr
New appointments:
Kyra Jones, educational development associate, CTIE (Waterloo campus).
he said. “Laurier is providing the level of education and practical experience necessary to survive in today’s new economy. We fully understand that connection between the university and our community. It has also benefitted us. That is why the Marslands are providing this gift.” Marsland’s wife Margaret, son Brad and daughter Melanie are all sharing in the donation. The Marslands’ gift will support the Laurier Startup Fund and the university’s new Global Innovation Exchange (GIE) building. Laurier’s Startup Fund exemplifies the university’s approach to education that immerses students in real business challenges. The fund provides business students with real money to invest in start-up businesses. The GIE, opening fall 2015, will be
Photo: Tomasz Adamski
Larry Marsland’s memories of Waterloo are defined by the factory whistle. These whistles regulated the work day in the rubber factories, furniture manufacturers, tanneries, meat packing plants, shirtmakers and button makers across the city. Over his family’s long history in Waterloo, Marsland has witnessed the transformation of business from one of whistles and skilled manual jobs to one of knowledge and technology. To support the education of the next generation of workers, Marsland and his family have made a $1 million donation to Wilfrid Laurier University’s School of Business & Economics. “When my family first started our businesses in Waterloo, no one could have foreseen how much universities were going to contribute to our community,”
Carolyn Komarnitsky, curriculum technologist, CTIE (Waterloo campus). Cara Loft, Aboriginal student recruitment and outreach officer, Aboriginal Initiatives (Waterloo campus).
Ashley Donsberger, academic advisor (Brantford campus). Ryan Doyle, systems analyst OneCard, ITS (Waterloo campus). Anne Forler, Launchpad Program Coordinator, SEO Office.
Janet Okrafka, nurse, Wellness Centre (Waterloo campus).
Melissa Huszczo, administrative manager, Faculty of Liberal Arts (Brantford campus).
Sean Poole, technical coordinator, performance facilities (Waterloo campus).
Sandra Martin, coordinator, event planning and outreach, Career Centre (Waterloo campus).
Ben Skinner, assistant lab coordinator, Mathematics (Waterloo campus).
Jan McPhedran-McLeod, JumpStart coordinator, access and Transition Centre (Waterloo campus).
John Ternan, digital media specialist, CPAM (Waterloo campus).
Bojan Popic, administrative assistant, University Relations (Waterloo campus).
Nick Zerbyk, research associate, Balsillie School.
Jordan Schaus, OneCard systems assistant, OneCard Office (Waterloo campus).
Changes in staff appointments: Karlee Demeester, Welcome Centre and events coordinator, Recruitment & Admissions (Waterloo campus).
Tracy Swierenga, graduate admissions and records officer, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Waterloo campus).
Inside the future home of SBE and math
Name: Jennifer Caldwell Job Title: Communications and Design Specialist, Development and Alumni Relations Book Title: All My Puny Sorrows Author: Miriam Toews I have read most of Miriam Toews’ novels — she is a great storyteller, but more importantly she finds humour in the every day. All My Puny Sorrows book is both terribly sad and wonderfully funny at the same time. I feel that’s accurate — even during life’s saddest of moments, there’s often humour. It’s what gets us through. Whenever I put the book down, I also get a little joy thanks to my amazing handmade bookmark. It was made for me by my almost-four-year old niece!
What are you listening to?
Photo: Justin Fauteux
Name: Adam Bloomfield Job Title: Administrative Assistant, Dean of Students office, Brantford campus Album: Alvvays Artist: Alvvays (pronounced “Always”)
The beginning of a 300-seat lecture hall inside Laurier’s new Global Innovation Exchange building on the Waterloo campus.
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I am always a sucker for sugary, upbeat indie pop and Alvvays’ self-titled debut album drew me in instantly and refused to let go. Right out of the gate, they set the tone with “Adult Diversion,” a track that you must dance to, only to follow up with my personal favourite, “Archie, Marry Me.” The Toronto-based quintet’s collection of dream-like synth songs has been my go-to jam in the office, in the car, or at home with Sunday morning chores, and will likely be for quite a while yet.
OCTOBER 2014 Inside
Staff and faculty donate to help students Gifts of all sizes combine to support Laurier students. “There have been times, during my years at Laurier, when I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it, financially,” said Amon. “It has been thanks to awards and bursaries that I will be graduating next year. Your donations to Laurier are an investment in students, like me.” Last year, 18 per cent of faculty and staff supported students through the Community Campaign. The focus of this year’s campaign is to have significantly more faculty and staff participate. Being a donor sends a strong message of how supportive the Laurier community is of its students. If you haven’t already, consider making a donation to support Laurier and our remarkable students at www.wlu.ca/communitycampaign.
Thank you. It might sound trite, but Sharon Amon really wants you to know how grateful she is. “To every Laurier staff and faculty member who supports the university with generous donations year after year, I want to express a huge thank you,” said Amon, a fourth-year psychology student. “I come from a large, low-income family, so every donation that I have received in my four years at Laurier has saved me in my times of great financial need.” For Amon and many Laurier students like her, donations can make the difference of whether they’re able to pursue postsecondary education or not. Each year, staff and faculty at Laurier are asked to make their own donations to the university through the annual Community Campaign fundraising initiative. Donations can be directed to specific programs and initiatives.
Donations from staff and faculty have helped student Sharon Amon attend Laurier.
Mother and son continued
with Johnston and helped fuel his desire to eventually pursue his own education. residential school, there was Johnston eventually checked another one being born.” into the Native Horizons A single mother, Bruyere Treatment Centre in Six Nations struggled with addiction through First Nation. With his mother as the early parts of her three sons’ lives, but her children inspired her a support and an inspiration, he started to recover. to get her life back on track. “I always had that message “I wanted the cycle of in the back of my mind that I abandonment to stop,” she said. “Being a residential school survivor, could do this because I had seen my mom do it,” he said. And I had no idea how to be a parent, that mentality continued when but I knew I wanted to be there Johnston decided to follow his for my sons. I wanted them to mother’s example again and know who I am as their mom. So fulfill his goal of furthering his I started my own healing and kept education. myself in treatment.” In 2009, Johnston completed With her life back on track, a a two-year Social Service Worker friend encouraged her to pursue diploma at Lambton College in a Bachelor of Social Work degree Sarnia, Ont., and then went on to through Carleton University’s complete a three-year Bachelor distance education program. The of Social Work from Western prospect of going back to school University in 2012. in her early 40s seemed preposHe then enrolled in Laurier’s terous to Bruyere, but her friend Master of Social Work Aboriginal convinced her to register. Four Field of Study program, the first years later, she had earned her program of its kind in Canada degree. that is rooted in the Aboriginal “I never, ever thought I would be able to do that,” she said. “And the worldview. At the same time, Bruyere was highlight was having my sons in considering a master’s degree. the crowd.” Johnston’s response when his The moment wasn’t lost on mom told him she would be Johnston. joining him in class? “That’s “Watching her walk across the pretty cool,” he recalled with a stage, I was just amazed,” he laugh. said. Although it would be nearly When they started at Laurier a decade before he went back last fall, Bruyere and Johnston to school himself, watching his mother get her degree after every- anticipated a bit of awkwardness. thing she had gone through stuck “We were worried people would
Author Cary Fagan visits campus
Grant will grow entrepreneurship programming at Laurier By Justin Fauteux
Photo: Lori Chalmers Morrison
Author Cary Fagan visited the Waterloo campus in September as part of the Faculty of Arts’ Common Reading Program. Fagan gave a public lecture and led a writing workshop, and signed copies of his book My Life Among the Apes. The book, a collection of short stories that long-listed for The Scotiabank Giller Prize, was distributed to incoming first-year Arts students in the summer. To learn more about the Common Reading Program, visit www.facebook.com/LaurierArtsCommonReading.
Photo: Sandra Muir
Singer Susan Aglukark leads round dance
Award-winning singer Susan Aglukark leads a round dance in the quad at Laurier’s Waterloo campus in September. The event was held to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
think of us as a bickering mother and son, getting on each other’s nerves in class,” said Johnston. But with only 15 people in the program, there’s a family atmosphere among classmates, which suited Bruyere and Johnston well. Through their year at Laurier, Bruyere and Johnston discussed assignments and called each other for help. They even worked together on a project studying the effects of a residential school system on two generations of a family. Bruyere and Johnston are humbled when people — particularly Aboriginal youth — say they are an inspiration. “It’s so important we acknowledge the success stories in the Aboriginal community,” said Johnston. “I think it’s really important that youth hear these stories and think ‘Hey, if they can go to school, so can I.’” Bruyere and Johnston both hope to continue giving back to the Aboriginal community. Johnston plans on working with Aboriginal youth for a few years and is considering a PhD, while Bruyere wants to work with residential school survivors. When asked if she might join her son in pursuing a doctorate, Bruyere simply laughs. “I’d be in a seniors’ home by the time I finished,” she said. “I could hang my diploma up and play bingo every Thursday night!”
Laurier will receive part of a $3.3-million grant from the Ontario government aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. The grant will be shared between Laurier and the University of Waterloo, in a partnership with Communitech, as part of the provincial government’s campus-linked accelerators program (CLA). The provincial government’s CLA initiative, which will create links between universities and accelerator programs in 10 Ontario regions, is geared towards helping create jobs for young people by investing in entrepreneurship at Ontario universities. The investments are aimed at commercializing the ideas and inventions that come out of research being done at the province’s universities. The funding will allow Laurier to further develop its LaunchPad program in Waterloo, Brantford and Toronto. Based at the Communitech Hub, the Waterloo campus LaunchPad program is an experiential learning opportunity that enables students to not only receive interactive instruction in entrepreneurial management, but also create their own startup. The undergraduate and graduate students who participate in the LaunchPad course enter the program with an idea for a business and learn how to make their startup grow and thrive. Through LaunchPad, students
receive connections into their local entrepreneurship community and government and business contacts. They also receive access to new capital, research, technology, commercialization expertise and support services. “Entrepreneurship programming is thriving at Laurier, thanks to the dedication and passion of our students, alumni, faculty, staff and supporters,” said Steve Farlow, executive director of the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship in the School of Business and Economics, which runs the LaunchPad program. Currently, about 20 groups of students take part in the LaunchPad program on the Waterloo campus. The university’s goal, with the help of the CLA funding, is to double the number of participants in the program in Waterloo and increase the offering in Toronto. The funding will also help Laurier create a new LaunchPad program on the Brantford campus. In March, the university received a $750,000 gift from the TD Bank Group that will also help establish a LaunchPad program in Brantford. “Having a LaunchPad program in Brantford will support teaching and learning in commercial and social entrepreneurship, as well as complementary social and economic enterprise and development,” said Brian Rosborough, senior executive officer of the Brantford campus. 5
Inside
OCTOBER 2014
coffee with a co-worker
Name: Sally Heath Title: Manager: Academic Program Development and Review Where you can find her: 202 Regina St., Waterloo campus. Drink of choice: Americano from Death Valley’s Little Brother
How long have you been at Laurier? I have been a proud Laurier alumna since 2002 and have taught as a CAS instructor in the Canadian and North American Studies programs since 2003. I joined the Centre for Teaching Innovation and Excellence in 2010 and have been with the team since. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you? I’m an avid long-distance trail runner, mountain biker and adventure racer. I think people would also be surprised to hear how much I know about beer! I’ve taken courses on beer and often work at beer events on the weekends. I’m not particularly interested in the science of brewing but I love convincing people to try new beers. How did you get started as a racer? I’ve been running since high school
A look at staff and faculty across campus
but my interest in the sport has evolved from road racing to trail ultramarathons, which I find are more scenic and fun, and less hard on the body. I have been adventure racing since 2003 and have been fortunate to race with some outstanding teammates during that time. The most epic event I’ve participated in was a six-day non-stop expedition adventure race in 2011 in the Kootenays, British Columbia. I raced with three men that I barely knew in a landscape and environment that I was completely unfamiliar with. We crossed the finish line delirious with exhaustion but it felt like an amazing accomplishment to have completed it together. What drives you to keep going? There is a saying in ultra-running that I truly subscribe to: ninety per cent is mental and the other 10 per cent is in your head. I practice a lot of self-talk during races and remind myself that the low times don’t last and can usually be fixed with some food, water or walking. I also never get tired of the exhilarating feeling of crossing the finish line! What happens if you have to go to the bathroom? You just go! One of the goals of adventure racing is to work as a
coming Events
@SPINMagazine Watch as a French Horn player totally owns this “Hey Ya” cover http://go.spin.com/1wNJnGY @WR_Record Marsland family donates $1M to Wilfrid Laurier business school ow.ly/BRS3a #WLU @LaurierNews @brantunitedway #changestartswithme @LaurierNews Students at #laurier painting mugs for BUW campaign! pic.twitter.com/ tkGt33Ix2L @Chief_BLarkin Welcome @LaurierNews alumni & best wishes @WLUAthletics Hawks as you take on #ravens! Enjoy the festivities, have fun & be safe. @WRPSToday @rudydotca whoa! my son Eric @Limeback is doing a 3000-piece rubik’s cube art piece for #toronto’s @sbnuitblancheTO OCT 4th wlu.ca/news_detail.ph… @YannickCarter48 Putting on the Purple and Gold was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. #GoldenHawks… instagram.com/p/ s4Arx4nsdg/
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Have you ever run out of water? It has happened to me more than I would like to admit! I should know by now how much water to carry but still make mistakes, especially in the heat. One of the items always in my running or racing pack is water purification tablets. I’ve had giardia twice now and it isn’t much fun!
in Canada and every state in the United States. Each time I complete a race, I come home and mark it with a sticker. I’ve still got a long way to go! What are your plans for the future? This month I will be going to Pennsylvania to run my first
100-km ultramarathon . The race is about 95 per cent single-track trail and features 20,000 feet of elevation change, so I’ve been busy climbing lots of hills! I’m also planning to enter a lottery for a spot in an ultramarathon in France in the summer of 2015 — fingers crossed! By Erin Almeida
How do you physically prepare yourself for a race? I usually do some type of training six days a week in all weather and at different times of the day. I tailor my training to whatever race I have coming up next. To prepare for overnight or multi-day adventure races, for example, I practice training through the night to get my body prepared. Where are some of the places you’ve raced? I’ve raced in Scotland, Mexico, all over the United States and in several provinces in Canada. I have a large map at home and my goal is to do a race in every province
Sally Heath nears the summit of Am Bodach in Scotland.
For a complete list of events visit www.wlu.ca/events
Heard on Twitter Check out what the Laurier community has been tweeting about at twitter.com/lauriernews. Laurier also has official sites on Facebook at www. facebook.com/WilfridLaurierUniversity and YouTube at www.youtube.com/LaurierVideo.
team, so if one person has to go to the bathroom, everyone should go, because you all have to stop anyway. The same goes for food, drink, rest or injury. Communication is very important and you have to check your modesty at the door.
International Opportunities @ Laurier Fair When: Oct. 23 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Where: Concourse, Waterloo campus Cost: Free Expanded Listening by Darren Copeland When: Until Oct. 25 Where: Robert Langen Art Gallery, Waterloo campus Cost: Free This sound installation by Canadian artist Darren Copeland functions like an instrument that challenges visitors to experience a dimension of their daily acoustic environment that they aren’t usually able to hear. Soup and Frybread When: Every Thursday 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Where: Aboriginal Student House, 111 Darling Street, Brantford Cost: Free
Students, staff and faculty will share how students can add value to their degree through local opportunities and travelling abroad. Music at Noon When: Oct. 23 Noon – 1 p.m. Where: Maureen Forrester Recital Hall, Waterloo campus Cost: Free
schedule of events, visit www. laurieralumni.ca/homecoming. A War to End all Peace? The Legacy of World War One, 1914-2014 When: Nov. 5 Noon – 1 p.m. Where: Kitchener Public Library’s Central Branch Cost: Free Join Leonard Friesen, from Laurier’s Faculty of Arts, as he examines how the pattern of war
Enjoy homemade soup paired with fresh frybread every Thursday. Oktoberfest When: Oct. 10 – 18 Where: Kitchener-Waterloo Cost: Varies
Take part in Laurier’s convocation celebrations. A full schedule is available at www.wlu.ca/convocation.
Experience Canada’s greatest Barvarian festival, with great food, music and events at various venues in Kitchener-Waterloo. For more information, visit www. oktoberfest.ca.
Homecoming, Brantford campus When: Nov. 8 Where: Brantford campus Cost: Varies Join alumni, family and friends and celebrate Homecoming on the Brantford campus! For a full
The Shell Shock Enigma When: Nov. 12 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Where: Milton Centre for the Arts Cost: Free Mark Humphries from Laurier’s Department of History will lead this discussion, part of the monthly Laurier Milton Lecture Series.
Sudoku
Bring your lunch and enjoy a performance by Jane Liebel, soprano, Vernon Regehr, cello, and Maureen Volk, piano. Fall Convocation When: Oct. 30 & 31 Where: Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex Cost: Free
impeded on the development of peace in this lecture, part of the Ideas & Issues Lecture Series.
Answer from page 3.
OCTOBER 2014 Inside
Laurier buys Brantford’s Market Annual United Way Square; YMCA project is underway campaign kicks off Laurier has reached an agreement with the City of Brantford to acquire Market Square in downtown Brantford. The acquisition of the 360,000 square-foot facility was approved by the university’s Board of Governors in September. Brantford city council also voted last month to finalize a transfer of the buildings and land. The acquisition fits with Laurier’s campus master plan, which was approved by the Board of Governors in February 2010. Market Square would provide the space required for academic, administrative and student needs to accommodate projected enrolment growth at the Brantford campus, as well as the expansion of Laurier’s partnership with Conestoga College. Laurier plans to undertake a full planning exercise to determine the most efficient and effective use of the space. The City of Brantford offices and other businesses currently in the building will remain in place while a long-term strategy is developed.
“This acquisition, combined with our investment in the Laurier YMCA project on Colborne Street, is an indication of our long-term investment in the continued growth of Laurier in Brantford,” said Brian Rosborough, senior executive officer of the Brantford campus. Site preparation for the Laurier YMCA project has started,
including sewer line relocation and shoring on Colborne Street. The 150,000 square-foot facility will include a six-lane, 125-metre lap pool, teaching tank, large double gymnasium with retractable seating for 1,200 people, two levels of general fitness space for cardio and weights, four studios and a multi-purpose activity gym. It is scheduled to open in early 2017.
An updated rendering of the new Laurier YMCA building.
Way canvassers will provide information, and online pledge forms can be found on the United Way website. Those who make a donation by Oct. 20 will qualify for an earlybird prize. Laurier kicked off its Waterloo and Brantford campaigns with events in early October. From Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, Laurier Brantford students were invited to paint soup mugs, which will be featured at a lunch on Nov. 4. Attendees receive soup and a decorated mug for $25 with proceeds to the Brant United Way. Laurier’s Waterloo campus kicked off its campaign with four simultaneous bake sales on Oct. 7 in support of United Way of KitchenerWaterloo and area. For further information, click on the United Way button at wlu.ca or the Laurier Brantford homepage, or email unitedway@ Mug painting and a bake sale launched the 2014 campaign. wlu.ca. A key part of inspiring lives of leadership and purpose is supporting our communities. Laurier’s support takes many forms, and in October, we support our local agencies through Laurier’s United Way campaign. “Donations — no matter how small or large — will help to improve the wellbeing of our local communities,” said Deb MacLatchy, vice-president: academic and provost and United Way campaign chair. Those interested in supporting the United Way can make a payroll deduction or donate by cheque, cash, pre-authorized chequing or credit card. United
research file
Laurier-led Hungry Cities project Anne Wilson joins College of New Scholars, Artists receives $2.5 million in funding and Scientists
By Stacey Morrison An international research project examining food security and inclusive growth in cities in the Global South, led by Laurier researcher Jonathan Crush, has been awarded $2.5 million in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the International Development Research Centre through an International Partnerships for Sustainable Societies (IPaSS) grant. “The Hungry Cities Partnership: Informality, Inclusive Growth and Food Security in the Cities of the Global South” is a five-year collaborative project between researchers at seven Canadian universities (Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo, Western University, University of Guelph, Queens University, Carleton University and Brandon University) and institutional partnerships with the University of Waterloo and research institutions in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, including China, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique and South Africa. The lead developing country partner is the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. The project aims to understand how cities in the Global South will manage the food security challenges arising from rapid urbanization and the transformation of urban food systems. The research also examines themes of entrepreneurship and growth in the food sectors of major cities, the impact of supermarket supply
By Justin Fauteux
Jonathan Crush
chains, and youth and women’s employment and entrepreneurship in the informal economy. “By mid-century, more than 60 per cent of the population of the Global South will be living in towns and cities, and the drivers of this urban revolution are poorly understood, as are its implications for poverty, food security, urban and rural livelihoods and inclusive growth,” said Crush, principal investigator on the project. “This innovative, interdisciplinary project has a global remit, and will bring together Laurier and other Canadian and international researchers to conduct a systematic program of policy-oriented research and capacity building to identify practical solutions for reducing food insecurity and fostering entrepreneurship and inclusive growth.” Crush is CIGI chair in Global Migration and Development at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and professor in Laurier’s School of International Policy and Governance. He is also
co-founder of Laurier’s 2030+ Group and founder of the African Food Security Urban Network, which studies the links between urbanization, migration and food security in South Africa. He is also a Laurier alumnus. Laurier researchers Alison Blay-Palmer, associate professor of geography and environmental studies, and Andrea Brown, associate professor of political science, will also be contributing to the project. In addition, the project will feature innovative tablet-based data collection and analysis, international conferences in every location, including several in Waterloo, and training for more than 100 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers in Canada and partner countries. IPaSS grants are designed to bring Canadian researchers and their peers in low- or middleincome countries together to work on issues of mutual interest. Only four partnerships have been awarded funding over four to seven years to carry out research.
Laurier Psychology Professor Anne Wilson has been named one of the inaugural members of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Wilson, who currently holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Social Psychology, will join researchers and academics from across Canada to make up the first cohort of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The college is the first multidisciplinary body to recognize the next generation of Canadian intellectuals on a national scale. “The calibre of the people who will be in this college is truly impressive, so it’s certainly humbling to be among the inaugural members,” said Wilson. “It’s an honour to be recognized and to know that I have this support within my university and externally. It will also be a wonderful opportunity to meet and learn from some of Canada’s top young academics from a number of different fields.” Wilson has done research in a variety of areas within the social psychology field. Her work is primarily focused on self and identity over time, studying the way people remember and revise the past and how they predict and plan for the future. Recently, she has paid particular attention to studying how people interpret the timing and risk of possible future events, which has implications
Anne Wilson
for people’s present behaviours in domains as diverse as health, exercise, academic procrastination and environmental sustainability. “Dr. Wilson’s research provides us with a nuanced understanding of the psychology of time and our experience of ourselves through memory. Her work has influenced researchers internationally across a wide range of topics including psychology, cognition, neuroscience, personality and aging,” said Abby Goodrum, vicepresident: Research at Laurier. The college will function alongside the Royal Society of Canada’s three existing academies: the Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of Science. The members of the college represent a wide variety of disciplines and are all at early points in their careers. Members will serve as the voice of the new generation of Canadian academics, mentoring young scholars, artists and scientists and meeting annually to discuss current issues in research and education, among other responsibilities. 7
Inside
OCTOBER 2014
in the classroom
Examining history’s most notorious serial killer Instructor: Amy Milne-Smith Class: AF 101J – Finding Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper is one of the most famous criminals in history. But not only was the real killer never caught, there is also an astonishing lack of real information surrounding the murders that captivated London’s Whitechapel district in 1888. Amy Milne-Smith, an associate professor of history, leads a small group of first-year students in studying the hysteria surrounding the infamous crimes, analyzing handwritten police documents, maps and newspaper clippings to examine both the Jack the Ripper case itself and, more broadly, how a society understands and reacts to crime. “The course builds towards a final project where instead of determining the killer, which would be impossible, the students explain why certain groups fixated on particular suspects, and what that tells us about Victorian society,” said Milne-Smith. As one of 14 first-year Faculty of Arts seminars being offered this year, the course also serves as a way of setting new university students up for success. “The course is designed as both an introduction to a specific topic and an introduction to university more generally, the skills and techniques students can take with them to all disciplines,” said Milne-Smith. “The class is discussionbased, and students engage with a variety of primary sources to develop analytic and critical-thinking skills through hands-on experience. ~ Justin Fauteux
Amy Milne-Smith leads a discussion about Jack the Ripper with her first-year seminar students.
Waterloo Homecoming highlights
Golden Hawks football team dominates Carleton Ravens 53-3; Laurier Loop run raises $12,165
(Clockwise l-r): Runners participate in the Laurier Loop, fans cheer on the Golden Hawks football team, and students dish out a free pancake breakfast in the quad.
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